By Samachar Digital News
Chandigarh 18th Mar,
2020:- Ola Mobility Institute (OMI), today released an
in-depth report that underscores the importance of two-wheelers in India and
the potential of bike-taxis to stimulate economic and social development. The
report titled, ‘The Power of Two
Wheels-Bike Taxis: India’s new shared mobility frontier’ offers
insights and recommendations and calls for an enabling policy framework to
widen the scope of bike-taxis.
With the
emergence of ride-hailing services, bike-taxis have gained popularity as a
made-for-India solution. OMI in its detailed study has conducted an empirical
analysis of bike taxi operations in Gurugram and Jaipur. The study found that bike taxis are an ideal first mile-last mile solution as
70-85% of customers prefer to use bike-taxis to travel distances less than 7
kms. In Gurgaon, it has been observed that 1 in 3 trips are to and from metro
stations with the majority of trips happening during peak hours.
The report
further quantifies the benefits of bikes-taxis in providing affordable and safe
first and last mile connectivity, income augmentation and job-creation. It
provides a detailed explanation of how States and UTs in India stand to gain
socially and economically by legitimising the operations of bike taxis.
Speaking on
the report, Anand Shah, Head, Ola
Mobility Institute said that India has one of the largest numbers of two
wheelers plying on the roads in the world. Shared mobility and hyper local
delivery are witnessing strong uptake and bikes have emerged as the preferred
choice for both passenger and goods movement. The report comes at a critical
time when India needs to create 55-60 lakh new jobs annually over the next
decade. Bike taxis will be key in achieving this target, democratising access
to mobility and building an inclusive mobility ecosystem.
The report
estimates the revenue potential of bike taxis is at USD 4-5 billion along with
generating over 2 million livelihood opportunities. It suggests that the key to
effectively governing bike taxis as a mobility category lies in providing
coherent legal clarity, integration of public transit systems, allowing access
to formal credit for driver entrepreneurs and creating a level-playing field
for all stakeholders.
The Central
Government has paved the way for States to formulate policies for bike-taxi
operations, however, currently, only a few States and Union Territories
regulate this category. State governments can unlock the potential of
bike-taxis as an affordable, efficient, fast and a safe mode of transportation
to help India become a five trillion-dollar economy.
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